Redemption
by Flying Porkchop
Summary: When her older brother makes the wrong choice, Julianne is determined to restore her family name. But the real world turns out to be a lot more complex than she ever could have seen, even from the highest hills of Wall Sina. It seems the only way to survive in this world is to adapt. (Also fits into the Romance, Tragedy, and Family genre.)
1. Chapter 1 (revised)

_But shivering, sniveling cowardice is not the way of our valiant ruler! His quill did not quiver with hesitance as he detailed his desires for the decree, but shook with determination, and it was done. Though many would perish, his unyielding faith in the valor and fortitude of our loyal people assured our most regal ruler that he chose justly and rightly when he graciously granted the people of our third wall- the refugees that boiled with the righteous anger of kings deep in their hearts- a gleaming opportunity to redeem what had been so harshly stolen from them by evil incarnate–_

"Ow! Ada!" Julianne said sharply, her hand moving instinctively to her irritated scalp. She locked eyes with her servant in the vanity mirror, her expression cross.

"My apologies, Mistress." Ada adjusted the stroke of the fine-toothed ivory comb.

Julianne focused again on the heavy book in her lap for a few moments before inconspicuously raising her gaze once again. Sure enough, the old woman's eyes were fixed on the orderly lines of black ink.

"Do not read over my shoulder." The only way an experienced servant like Ada would tug on her hair was if she wasn't paying the proper attention to her task. "I cannot enjoy my book when someone else is watching that way."

"Of course."

Julianne closed the book with a sigh anyway. Ada would read over her shoulder no matter what she said, and Julianne didn't feel an inclination to argue. Though Ada had long stopped acting as her nurse, because of their history, she tended to be more bold with her mistress than the other servants.

Julianne ran her fingers slowly over the fine leather– _The History of the Breach of Wall Maria._

"I want to return to the library," Julianne said. She could already feel her family's vast collection of books beckoning to her. "This volume is rather boring. And it seems to prove that I really am the only one who knows the king to be a fat and sweaty glutton."

Ada simply dipped her graying head at this statement, presumably because she had never met the king as Julianne had. She pinned up the last strand of raven black hair with a golden clip, and Julianne rose, fluffing her petticoats.

"Do not follow me. I promise I won't be late to my lessons." Sometimes it seemed the old woman forgot that a lady of fourteen no longer needs a nurse to supervise her every move.

Ada nodded and moved away hesitantly, most likely off to dust something or rearrange Julianne's bedding.

Julianne was halfway down the hall when she passed a window and caught a glimpse of a party of horses riding up to their estate, pausing to watch them. It appeared to be just another vanguard of visitors for her father, but as they rode closer, she realized that the guards had the family crest on their uniforms. And the rider in front wore a military jacket.

 _Felix!_

Julianne gathered her skirts in her hands and held them up a few inches above her ankle– higher than she should have, she knew–as she hurried down the stairs to meet her brother. Hastily, she smoothed her skirt so as to hide her actions. Her father and mother were already there, waiting for him to enter, and would surely give her stern glances if they saw her lift her skirts so high.

Her mother held the strong arm of her father with a graceful hand as he kept his stony gaze fixed on the heavy doors, his profile outlined starkly against the window by the morning sun. She greeted her daughter calmly, not quite turning her head to face Julianne, but enough that Julianne could see her expression.

Slowly, a soft smile made the lines on her face fade away. "Felix arrives."

"Yes!" Julianne said, trying not to sound too eager, but not entirely succeeding. Her hands could not keep still until she clasped them together, and though she couldn't feel herself squirming, she could hear the fabrics of her dress rubbing against each other. Today, however, it seemed neither of her parents would scold her for it.

After all, Felix had always been her favorite of her two brothers. Now that his three years of training were finally over, she knew he would soon have to leave for duty to the Military Police, but surely her father would ensure that Felix's division is always in close proximity to their home. And before he left, Felix would certainly read with her, and show her some of the tricks he'd learned in his training.

The ornate wooden doors swung open, and Felix entered the hall first, the noise from his boots chasing itself all around the cathedral-like domed ceiling. He left a dark print of dirt on their pristine marble floor, but he oddly didn't seem to notice, simply bowing.

Julianne followed suit and curtsied. Only when Julianne raised her head did she realize that her parents stood stiff. Suddenly, her mother's gentle hand seemed to be a claw, her father's solid gaze an icy reproach.

"Felix…" It seemed he'd run out of words.

Julianne saw the disturbance then. Her brother's uniform bore not the regal horned horse of the Military Police, but the crossed white and blue wings of the Survey Corps. Her stomach began to turn uncomfortably. Julianne's hands began to tremble, but she could not restrain them this time. It would have been a more accurate symbol of those people if their wings had been torn and red.

"What is the meaning of this, Felix?" Their father demanded after a long pause, voicing Julianne's thoughts exactly.

Her brother had visited home several times during his training, and each time had reported excellent grades; none of them had ever imagined that he wouldn't join the Military Police. A tightening pressure was beginning to build behind her eyes.

Felix looked at their father's stormy face, and then at their mother's small mouth slightly agape. He glanced only briefly at Julianne before offering a weak excuse to their parents, his face carefully impassive.

"I suppose my letter was lost, otherwise I have arrived before it...I didn't achieve the necessary marks for service in the honorable Military Police." Somehow, he had the gall to meet their father's eyes, standing erect. "So I instead chose the Survey Corps."

Julianne involuntarily glanced at the staircase. How easy would it be to simply run up those steps and go back to her room as though nothing had happened? But still she stood rigid, looking sideways at her similarly frozen parents. A stretch of silence ensued, until Felix spoke again, his voice clipped and detached.

"May I go to my chamber?"

He received no answer. Her parents left the room, her father with his lips pressed tight, and her mother clinging to his arm as though she would fall should she let go.

Felix grinned at her uneasily. "Is that a yes?"

Julianne did not return a smile, but she refused to let him see her tears, forcefully blinking them out of existence. Her voice shook. "Why would you do this, Felix?"

He stared at her for a moment, uncomprehending, and then the corners of his lips dropped down, and his gaze averted. He pivoted and walked away, tracking in dirt with his boots clicking against the polished marble in aggravated disagreement.

* * *

The _whoosh_ of a blade sounded foreign in their garden. Normally, only the sound of the nearby fountain—a cherub gracefully pouring water from a pitcher—and the various birds could be heard in the garden, and occasionally the wind or an animal rustled the leaves. Sounds of steel and clanking equipment did not belong.

The head of a tulip hit the ground with a flash of metal and an audible thud, which did not belong either. But once again, Felix didn't seem to notice. Wasn't the military supposed to sharpen the senses?

"I can barely keep track of your blade." Julianne merely wanted to break the silence. She didn't like the sound of a sword in her peaceful garden, and she was particularly fond of the tulips.

"It's easier than it looks," Felix said. He put the blade back into its sheath without ceremony and sat down next to her on the stone bench.

Julianne eyed him carefully. Her brother still looked as he did the last time they met, though perhaps a bit more tanned and muscular, but he still had the same face. It was their mother's face, soft and compliant, though with a tinge of their father's thick eyebrows and taut brow. Felix was suddenly so different, yet at once so familiar. Julianne supposed it was because the shame of his failure now weighed upon his shoulders.

Felix began unlatching the three-dimensional maneuver gear from his waist, piece by piece. Julianne privately wondered if it really had to be that complicated.

Something else bothered her, too. "You can do all that, but still didn't make the top ten."

Felix didn't look at her, robotically unfastening even more buckles. "I was waiting for you to comment on that. I could tell you were holding it back."

Julianne pursed her lips and waited.

"I expected that you, at least, would still accept me, sister." Felix dropped the gear down next to the bench, creating a clatter that even further interrupted the peace of the garden. A family of thrushes fled the nearby cranberry bushes at the racket.

"Tell me why."

Felix was quiet for a moment. "You wouldn't understand."

He'd never said anything like that to her before. Even so, he smiled at her then. "You're pouting."

Julianne stuck her lower lip back in. "I'm not."

Felix looked away. "I should change my clothes for supper."

Upon closer inspection, Julianne noticed the dirt trapped in the weave of the white pants, the pale cracks in the leather straps holding his gear in place, the small loose threads on the embroidered wings on his sleeve. Even on his previous visits, she'd never noticed how disorderly his clothes were before.

He stood and picked up his gear. It was true that his clothes were completely improper for supper, but he turned away too quickly. It took Julianne a moment to remember that he'd been dressing himself the past three years. He didn't even call a servant to carry his gear and simply picked it up himself.

"Have you really forgotten us?" Julianne asked softly.

"A little," Felix admitted, turning back and extending his hand to help her up from her bench. "But I'm remembering very quickly."

* * *

 _A/N: Hi! Thanks for reading! Any feedback is appreciated, so please feel free to leave a review!_

 _**Thanks so much to Shekame for beta-reading for me! :D (This is an updated version of the first chapter)_

 _I was inspired to write this when I wondered why there wasn't more class conflict included in the canon storyline, and when I wondered why other soldiers might join the military, if not to make the MPs or to satisfy a burning passion like Eren and his friends._

 _This story is rated T for dark/mature themes (nothing sexual, though) and violence, but I'm aiming for an overall positive message. At the moment, I don't expect to be writing anything more intense than the source material._

 _Hope you enjoy! :)_

 _Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin (c) Hajime Isayama_


	2. Chapter 2

The sounds formed delicate layers in the ballroom. A light chatter floated up to dwell with painted clouds and cherubs, and a string quartet performed ethereal music just dense enough to exist underneath the feathery voices. After such a celebration, one always departed with an odd sensation of surreal buoyancy.

And yet, Julianne still felt heavy, perched on the edge of a cushioned bench, her new blue gown smoothed out in front of her. Normally, someone would have complimented its deep midnight color, or at least commented on the intricate, swirling designs embroidered into its fabric, but today, no one had. Julianne daintily sipped from the small crystal cup in her hand and listened to the musicians, simultaneously eavesdropping on snippets of conversation and attempting to ignore the clenching in her chest.

"That lace is just _splendid_ on you!"

"-three large boars and a dozen pigeons, all with his rifle-"

"What a delightful flavor! Marvelous cream!"

By all appearances, everyone in the ballroom was in a festive mood. Some couples danced a minuet, light on their feet as fairies, the rich colors of the ladies' ballgowns even brighter against the impeccably solid pigments of the gentlemen's suits. Groups of men conversed near the large but lace-clothed table, laughing jovially and occasionally partaking of the various pastries and bubbly beverages. Though supper had already passed, no one seemed too full to sample the sugar-glazed desserts, topped with vibrant jams and fresh herbs.

However, the combination of all the voices made slight vibrations in the air, revealing an undercurrent of tension that the nobles of Wall Sina were so skilled at concealing. One blow, and the fragile peace could shatter. Julianne's stomach churned when she realized she hadn't an idea what would be left if it fell away.

She spotted her mother laughing nervously with the other ladies, waving one hand at them as the other rested on Felix's arm. He smiled politely, his moss-colored eyes disturbingly unreadable. Her father was sternly shaking his head at a group of his fellow gentlemen, his clipped mustache moving precisely as he spoke. Alexander, Julianne's oldest brother, was also standing near their father, his back even straighter than usual and his face calm and collected. Certainly he was proud that _he'd_ made the Military Police at Felix's age, third in his class.

Julianne looked away and simply listened again.

"Felix Hochberg joined the Survey Corps…"

"What a fool…To go into the military only to fall short!"

"Those high-and-mighty Hochbergs...This will surely put them in their place!"

"Poor Lady Hochberg...I'm glad it isn't me!"

Plenty of fluttering laughter.

Julianne pursed her lips and squeezed her glass until her fingernails turned white, heat rising to her face. Finally, she stood, placing her cup on a table nearby with forced gentleness. She held her chin high as she walked past all the party guests, her expression a practiced mask of dignity despite the fists she had involuntarily formed. Perhaps some of her friends or acquaintances would be mingling around the dancing area, and would be willing to converse with her.

Julianne approached and locked eyes with the three young ladies standing by the dance floor; they had chatted with her quite amiably at the last event. She met eyes with them for only a second, but all three turned away without acknowledging her.

"Miss Hochberg?"

Julianne turned and gazed haughtily at the group of young men addressing her, careful to keep a disinterested face and an upward-tilting chin. She recognized only two or three of them, but assumed that they were acquaintances of her brothers. "Yes?"

"We've heard that your brother, Felix, enlisted in the Survey Corps," said Martin. He was just a year older than Felix at seventeen, and a nosy young man, with beady, prying eyes and a large nose to match. The ladies frequently whispered that he always knew the gossip even before they did.

Julianne raised one eyebrow loftily, folding her hands primly in front of her despite their shaking. "That is corre-"

Suddenly, there was a heavy hand on Julianne's arm. She glanced upwards out of the corner of her eye to discover that it was Alexander, gripping her arm firmly.

"Julianne." His voice was smooth as cream, but his hard gaze weighed on the other young men with the metallic presence he'd inherited from their father. Alexander wasn't usually so protective of his little half-sister, but today everyone in their family was on edge. "Would all these young men really like to dance with you?"

Martin looked away from Alexander's harsh green eyes and politely intimidating smile, acknowledging his lower status. Though Julianne had never felt much affection for Alexander or his manipulative faces, a surge of triumph made her hands tremble even more, and the corners of her mouth twitched with the effort of maintaining her expression.

Most of the young men dispersed, but one boy, about Julianne's age, replied to Alexander's question. "I–! I would love to."

The boy was barely any taller than she was, still retaining a round, childish face. A single strand of blonde hair stood straight from the top of his head, ruining his otherwise well-groomed appearance. Julianne thought his name was Ralph, but she wasn't completely certain. In truth, he'd been trying to court her for months, but she always politely refused his advances.

Even so, Julianne agreed to dance with him after Alexander nodded his assent, and Ralph gently took her hand.

Julianne made a half-hearted attempt to waltz with him, but he repeatedly tripped over his own feet and nearly trod on hers. Not only did she have to lead the dance, but she had to keep it from falling apart. Occasionally, she was able to catch glimpses of Alexander talking to those boys over Ralph's shoulder, and eventually Felix joined them. They laughed and talked just like the adult men; they pretended to enjoy each other's company, but all of them hid knives in their smiles. Though she disliked Felix joining the Survey Corps, it bothered Julianne to see him with the other gentlemen, too. A strange sensation churned in her stomach when she realized it: he simply didn't seem to belong anywhere, anymore.

"J-Julianne," Ralph's clumsy voice called her back to reality. "It's alright if you don't want to dance."

"It's my pleasure," Julianne insisted sweetly, offering him a gilded smile.

Ralph's face erupted in a splotchy blush as they continued dancing, but he still seemed uncomfortable, his hands seeming to grow sweatier with each second. His eyes roved around the floor as though he hoped to find words to say beneath their feet.

Finally, he spoke. "D-did Felix really join the Survey Corps?"

Somehow, coming from Ralph, the question didn't seem like an attack. And yet, Julianne couldn't help but avert her eyes to the floor, avoiding the scrutiny of even her own reflection in the polished marble. "He did."

"Oh."

They danced in silence for a long time before Ralph spoke again, hesitantly. "M-my father thinks it's s-shameful...to waste noble blood on a lost cause, but...it's really very b-brave that he chose the Survey Corps. Y-your brother's no coward."

For a moment, all she could do was stare, her heart pounding louder with indignation. Ralph blushed, his hands sweating yet more as he tried to look everywhere but at her. She could feel his pulse quicken in his thumb, in time with her own.

Finally, she replied, looking at the ground again, her face growing hot and her voice hardening as water into ice. He only wanted to offer comfort with such a radical statement, but tonight she could not accept it. "No. Felix was weak. And now everyone is asking questions."

Ralph merely bowed his head in response, too kind-hearted to contradict her further.

At the end of the dance, he kissed her hand and left to find his elder brother. She wasn't sure why, but Julianne almost felt sad that their dance was over.

* * *

"Did you enjoy your dance?" Felix casually inquired once they were inside their carriage. Normally, Julianne enjoyed the carriage ride she and Felix had to themselves, but today...

"I was asked only about you," Julianne stared out the window, through a small space between the red velvet curtain, watching the slivers of clean, stone buildings pass them by. Now that their carriage was well into town, the only truly impressive building among the commoners' residences was the local church, its pillars cast in a soft blue glow from the evening sky. Though it was in her sight for only a moment, she spotted several faithful worshippers climbing the steps to the door. Slowly, her finger traced the fuzzy fabric of the cushioned bench she was seated on.

Felix was quiet for a moment before asking, his straightforward tone designed to hide. "Were you ashamed of me?"

Julianne lowered her eyelids and focused more on the curtain obscuring the window, looking through her long eyelashes. The simple uniformity of its fabric failed to comfort or distract her. Slowly, her fingers curled into her palm. "Don't ask me that."

When he failed to respond, Julianne looked at him sideways, but now Felix was the one avoiding her gaze. He gave a small scoff. "I wouldn't like the answer, would I?"

"You're lucky the rest of this family has such grace." Julianne's voice began to rise, quivering with rage. Something in her chest clenched, tighter than a fist. "Everyone wanted to know how a Hochberg could be such a _fool_ , especially after Alexander graduated third in his class! Think how embarrassed poor Mother must be! All...all my friends _ignored_ me, Felix!"

Felix stared at her for too long.

"What?" she demanded sharply.

"Nothing." Felix looked at his boots. He offered no apology, and no explanation.

Finally, Julianne spoke again, enunciating each word slowly and clearly. "What was your class rank?" In truth, she hadn't bothered to ask until now; if one failed to achieve marks in the top ten, then rank was considered irrelevant, but now Julianne had to know.

Felix looked at the ceiling now. "Eleventh."

"E-...Eleventh!" Julianne stared at him, but he refused to meet her eyes. Her fists clenched and shook in her lap, and she could feel her face growing even hotter. Small tears formed in her eyes, but teetered on the rims, not daring to fall. " _Eleventh!_ No one would have laughed had you chosen the Garrison! You could have been in unit under Military Police command! No one would laugh if they knew you were eleventh!"

"No one laughed, Julianne," Felix interrupted her firmly.

"You're right." She tilted her chin up and away from Felix, forcing her voice into sudden composure. "They did worse."

The empty space seemed to swell between them. They sat in agonizing silence for a moment before Felix suddenly moved. He yanked his jacket off and tossed it carelessly on the seat, and even undid some of the buttons near the collar of his shirt. A glimpse of his face revealed a stony indifference as he crossed his arms and looked outside his window. Julianne's eyes widened at his behavior. Felix simply didn't care.

Julianne turned toward the front of the carriage and pursed her lips, hands folded tightly in her lap. She pretended to look outside, again, past the curtain, but this time she did not see anything at all.

 _Eleventh._

* * *

 _A/N:_

 _I'm so sorry about the delay in updating; it's been hard to find time to write, much less polish a chapter enough to post, but here's the next chapter, so I hope you like it! Don't be afraid to let me know what you think, good or bad! :D_

_**Thanks so much to Shekame for beta-reading for me! :D_


	3. Chapter 3

The afternoons seemed far too long these days. The sun lingered in the sky casting the hallways of the Hochberg Estate in gentle yellows, shimmering dust motes floating idly through the air. Portraits on the walls acquired a strange gleam from the brightness, white swatches appearing over the heavy oil paints, blinding the eyes of ancestors and adding harsh light to idyllic landscapes.

Julianne stopped expectantly in front of a four-year-old portrait of her family. Despite its age, it still sat in the same elegant brass frame as the day it had been finished. Though they had a new one done every so often for their drawing room, her father kept the old ones displayed in other places throughout the home, where guests wouldn't see them. It always gave her an oddly detached feeling to look at them.

Father and Mother sat in the middle of the portrait, spines erect as always, expressions stern and serious. They were so unchanged that it was hard to tell how long ago the portrait was taken without looking at the children. Behind them stood younger versions of Alexander and Felix, mirroring the manner of their parents. In front sat an unrecognizable little girl, wearing a tasteful white dress with blue frills. It was before her mother had started to encourage her to dye her hair; it was still red back then. In faithful mimicry of those behind her, the girl also sat with perfect posture and grim expression, though she'd hated sitting still for the hours the artist had required. A chill tingled down Julianne's spine as she realized that despite her initial expectation, she felt no sense of nostalgia looking at the painting, and not even a sense of recognition.

So then her father's habit of keeping their old family portraits was more a monument to his sentimental streak than to any truth about the past. Briskly, she walked away, heading towards the family library. If she could find no memories in the paintings, surely she would find them there.

With a rotation of the ornate brass knob and a gentle push, the finely finished mahogany door glided open slowly and soundlessly, despite its status as one of the heaviest doors in their estate. Instantly, the semi-sweet smell of aged paper wafted from the room, reminding her of the days of her childhood she and Felix had spent looking through books together, sometimes selections of hers and sometimes Felix's.

Her footsteps echoed throughout the empty library, a soft clicking against the polished wooden floor. Lacking her usual primness, Julianne sat comfortably on one of the overstuffed armchairs in the middle of the library and leaned back, closing her eyes. The utter silence allowed her to enjoy the sounds of her memories. It was simple to imagine the bookcases surrounding her in concentric circles, the spiral staircase leading to the upper floors of the library, the dappled sunlight shining through the domed skylight. The smell of old books was even stronger inside the library. Years ago, Felix had made it into the smell of adventure, skipping lessons to lead her here, the two of them scampering down the hallways full of the joy of rebellion, hiding among the dusty shelves for as long as they could before Ada would find them...

Why would he choose to leave it all behind?

 _Julianne._

She could always hear his voice in the library.

A few seconds passed before she realized it really was his voice. He was standing on the staircase, resting his elbows on the finely polished railing, watching her with guarded curiosity. A button was undone at his rumpled collar.

"Felix…" Without meaning to, Julianne sat straighter, correcting her pose although he obviously had no intention of correcting his. They hadn't spoken since the party three days before.

"Mother is looking for you," he told her, not a touch of hesitance when he mentioned their mother. Felix leaned on the usually untouched surface of the rail without gloating. Instead, he seemed to be overtaken by a sense of ignorance.

"My embroidery lesson doesn't begin for another few minutes," Julianne retorted, rising from her chair with slow dignity. Daintily, she straightened the lacy, pink skirts she'd previously ignored. "Where are you going?"

Felix let his eyes wander, sweeping back and forth across the library's floors, his gaze going higher and higher until it reached the skylight. Julianne could see the sun sparkling in his eyes, could almost imagine seeing the reflection of the sky and the clouds there, the images of hero kings leading armies, great warriors of Military Police history, skilled hunters taking aim with only a bow and arrow. All memories of mere words on a page. She wondered if he remembered their time together as clearly as she did.

"Of our family, you've been showing the most interest in me since my return," he said matter-of-factly. It was almost as though he regretted it. "Father and Mother ignore me, and Alexander merely scoffs. I suppose your reaction is the best I could have expected."

"Where are you going?" Julianne repeated, cutting his commentary short. She didn't need to hear from him what she already knew.

He still did not look at her, preferring the aged, decaying spines of the hundreds of books in their library. "I was going to read some of the books we used to enjoy."

Julianne's hands involuntarily clenched, but she loosened them before she spoke. Her throat tightened with the effort of steadying her voice. "Before you go?"

"To see what they're really like, I suppose," Felix said softly, not quite listening. His eyes were still scanning the shelves, as though they were now unfamiliar to him. Julianne was about to ask what he meant when he continued. "I have three days left until we're summoned. Then the new recruits register, Martin and the others go off to the Military Police, and I go off to the Survey Corps. You'll never see me again, most likely."

"You're satisfied with that...aren't you?" Julianne tried to keep her voice airy, but could not hold back an accusatory undertone. She could never imagine why he was content with that, but he'd made it clear where his priorities stood.

"I'm ready to tell you, now, if you so wish." Felix came all the way down the stairs and sat in the matching armchair, not waiting for her to take her own seat first. He sat slouched forward, his elbows resting on his knees.

Julianne pursed her lips and sat again in her chair, keeping her back purposefully straight despite a desire to hide growing in her stomach.

"It's simple, really. All my trusted friends are going to the Survey Corps. They're sacrificing themselves for the good of humanity." He said it so plainly, as though such a cause could be as straightforward. "They are brave, and can call themselves truly honorable soldiers. How could I call myself their comrade if I chose to return _here_? This place...there's no honor here…"

His voice was as though his conviction was solid. And yet, he still would not meet his sister's eyes, as though ashamed to be saying such things.

Julianne scoffed and stiffened her shoulders further. The pressure in her throat was nearly unbearable. "That's pathetic. The reason you don't have honor here is because you lost it when you chose the Survey Corps. Going there won't bring it back." She looked down at her delicate fingers, which lay restlessly in her lap, interlaced with each other. She could not keep a small tremor from her voice when she continued. "And...and if your honor was nothing to you...what...what about me?"

"You're not nothing," Felix assured her, smiling without humor. Finally, he met her eyes. Though their mossy green color and curious glint could not have been more familiar, his were now the eyes of a stranger. "But you're not everything."

Julianne stared.

Felix was grinning to himself now, almost scornful as his gaze fell from hers again. She was not sure whom the scorn was for. "In this little bubble we've created, of course we'd put ourselves in the center, but that's not reality. Reality is much more beautiful."

Her eyes stung. Her heart was a hot ball of tightly wound twine in her chest, burning slowly through her. Her voice shook, now. "F-for all your pretty words of some higher cause for your existence...you'll only die inside another's mouth, as insignificant as any other piece of fodder. What do you think of that?"

Felix laughed, a barking chuckle, though her intent was not to entertain him. People had always said that chortle was charming, but Julianne had always known it was a contemptuous laugh. She pressed her lips together to prevent them from trembling.

"I'm not afraid, if that's what you mean. There are things in this world worth dying for."

They stared at each other in silence until Julianne stood abruptly, tilting her chin up to look down at him. She spoke with sudden metal. "Well, that's very _poetic_ , brother. Perhaps you should write that down. Now, if you'll excuse me, I recall that Mother was looking for me?"

Felix was still grinning joylessly. "She was."

"Then I'll be off."

Julianne looked back before closing the door behind her, expecting that Felix would have turned away by now to explore their library, as he'd said he would. Instead, she saw Felix still watching her with those stranger's eyes and that preposterous ghost of a smile on his face. She tried to slam the door with all her might, but as always, it glided calmly closed.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! Critique is welcome! :D

**Thanks to Shekame for beta-reading for me!


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